Tag: houses

Somehow, it’s already been a year since my husband and I purchased our first home. We loved it as soon as we saw it because it felt so cozy. It was the living room we loved best—it had a chimney (which, truth be told, we have yet to use) and it was huge, which is great because that’s where we’d be spending a good chunk of our time. But, we liked the layout of the entire house, and the fact that it was so close to work and in a good neighborhood.

We’ve done a lot of work to the house since we first bought it. It was exciting to know we could personalize it exactly to our tastes (a freedom we definitely didn’t have in our apartments), but it’s also taken a lot of time and effort (and, let’s be real, money).

We painted every room, rearranged appliances, and spent the last year finding exactly the right furniture to give us the look we wanted.

We’re still not quite done—we have big dreams of redoing the kitchen and maybe even the bathroom some day, plus smaller to-dos, like creating a gallery wall up the stairs and organizing our sun room (not pictured below)—but we’re happy and proud of what we’ve accomplished.

My dad is a really talented person. He recently renovated both of the bathrooms in my parents’ home, one of which included a sliding barn door. It was gorgeous, and I gushed about it so much he and my mom offered to make one for my house, too.

They delivered the handcrafted door to our home on Wednesday and Bill and I love it so much. It’s the perfect addition to our new home (not just beautiful, but practical, too, as it helps insulate our house from the sun room).

But mostly, we love it because it was such a thoughtful gift from my parents. As they prepare to move to California, it means a lot to have a little piece of them here with us!

When the seller backed out on the first home we attempted to purchase, we were devastated. It didn’t seem possible to continue the search, let alone have to start all over again, from square one, and be out several thousand dollars. (We are still out several thousand dollars, and now we have to go to court. But that’s another story for another time.)

It felt pretty magical, then, when we visited this adorable cape on the first day of our “new” home search. We loved it instantly.

But it seemed convenient. Did we actually love this place? Or did we just think we loved it, because we were tired of looking, angry from what had just happened, and desperate to get into another house?

Bill and I almost didn’t pursue this house because we were a little worried what others might think–that they’d be convinced we were rushing into things. But when we found out the price of the home, coupled with the fact that our real estate agent knew the family who was moving, it felt kind of right. We went for it.

At the start of July, we put in an offer, and thanks to our incredible real estate agent, Ed, things seemed to go off without a hitch. We closed on the house Friday, Aug. 14. (Insert house emoji here!)

(If you’re looking for a home in the Western Massachusetts area, please let me know. I’d love to send you to Ed!)

So right now: the house is a mess. One of the walls in the living room is half painted. I’m writing while sitting on a couch cushion (no couch), using a dining room chair (no dining room table) as my desk. But life is pretty goddamn good.

Here’s what I’ve been up to. (Or, here’s why I’ve been totally MIA from all of my blog-related duties since the beginning of May.)

Birthdays

I turned 27 in mid-May, even though I keep thinking I’m 28. (28 should be really easy, then.) One friend said 27 still counts as “mid-twenties,” and I like the sound of that. It was a wonderful birthday and I felt really loved, which is all I can really ask for. Also, I got to drink a lot of wine and eat a lot of s’mores, which is also all I can really ask for, so life is great.

The most beautiful gift, right?

Houses

We were so close to having a house—and then the seller backed out. That’s been stressful, and difficult, and pretty emotional. You don’t expect that to happen just days before you’re scheduled to close, leaving your wallet thousands of dollars lighter with nothing to show for it (except an item on your “to do” list that now says “take seller to small claims court”), and making it so you’re scrambling to find a new place to live.

It sucks, but the really crappy, hard part is almost over. I’m excited to get past this part and look back with Bill and say, “Remember that time when we were almost homeless? Crazy, right?!”

At least we’ve got this little nugget who puts up with us when we decide to take photos of him hanging out in a box while we pack.

Eloping

After a year of engagement, and nine years together, Bill and I eloped. It was amazing, and everything I think we both could’ve asked for.

We always knew we’d get married. It was never a question of if, but when. For a while, the only thing stopping us was we worried others would think we were too young; after that, the idea of having an actual wedding caused our hesitation. A wedding ceremony just never felt like us.

For a long time, I grappled with that. I tried to convince myself we should have a wedding. I did the research, I listened to what other people thought, I told myself again and again that weddings were what normal people did. Bill was supportive through and through. He would have done anything I wanted (including helping me plan the wedding—t’s 2015, guys!).

But I knew a wedding might really not be for me when one of my best friends, who got engaged three months after us, beamed when she told me she already had a date, venue, and dress picked, and I was sheepishly no closer to having anything figured out.

So we ran away to the beach (the same one in Niantic, CT, where we got engaged) and got married, just the two of us. It was incredible. We were able to focus on how much we loved each other, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it was exciting and sweet to know that for just a few days, we were the only two people in the world who knew we were married. Post-elopement, we spent a few blissful days celebrating on the beach.

I think we were both a little nervous to come back and tell everyone the news. It was good news, yeah, but we were worried people might be disappointed or upset or even a little hurt by our decision. Thankfully, everyone has been overwhelmingly kind, supportive, and loving (although I haven’t quite figured out yet if “You did it your way” is meant as a positive or a negative—I’m opting to go with the former).

And I’m now a wife. And I have a husband. And it’s totally crazy and right all at the same time.